Beloved

Those Eyes

"Uuuuuugggggggghhhhhhhh!" Talyn groaned and pulled on her hair. "This class is extra boring!" She ended up dropping her pencil and the boy next to her picked it up and handed it back. "Oh, thank you." Talyn switched from bored to flirtatious in a second and I groaned.

"If its so boring, why did you choose this profession?" I asked as she blew a kiss at the boy and winked, making him blush.

"Cause I wanted to be close to you, my love." She said the last part with mock innocence and our professor spoke. "That's it for class today, don't forget to study for your quiz. Oh and Mr. Stella, I need to speak with you." The class all packed up and rushed out of the room and I walked over to Professor Williams desk.

"Ymir, what is going on? You've been slacking these past few days, always zoning out in class and failing the easiest of quizzes. You are my star student! I can't brag about you to my colleagues if you're falling so far behind!" I rubbed the back of neck and sighed. "Its just... I recently had a traumatizing experience and its clouding my mind. Thanks for warning me, I'll try to get back on the ball now." Mr. Williams grabbed my hands and stepped closer. "If you need anything, you can always ask me for help." His voice was low and deep. I lightly unraveled my hands and stepped away. "Thanks, I will. Goodbye, Mr. Williams!" I jumped up the stairs two at a time and burst through the doors before full on sprinting to Talyn's car.

"Hey, what's up with you?" Talyn asked as I opened the door and flopped down into the seat. "Nothing, just drive." I said after I caught my breath and put on my seatbelt. We rode in silence and looked out the window at the passing buildings.

********

"Ymir? Can I eat your salad?" Talyn asked as she raided my fridge just like she always did whenever she came here. "Go ahead, I didn't plan on eating it." I lied and she came and say on the sofa with me. "What happened? Did he try something, cause I'll kick-"

"He didn't try anything, my grades are just slipping." I lied to Talyn's face again and I knew that she caught it. "He's not here anymore, Ymir. He can't hurt you anymore and you surely are capable of beating the shit out of anyone else that tries to!!! Did that professor try something or not?!" Talyn was yelling now and I just sunk into the couch and shook my head. "He didn't, I swear! He just -- it seemed that he wanted to... Talyn. If he had tried something, I'm not sure that I would've done anything. I froze!" She pulled me into a hug and I cried until I calmed down. We sat that way and she held onto me until my phone rang.

"I'll get it." I said as I got up and leaned over to the table to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Ymir, how are you?"

My dad had called and he seemed to be enjoying his day.

"I'm fine," I lied once again. "How are you, dad?" I asked and he seemed to smile. "I'm great. I'm coming up to see you tomorrow so have a room ready!" He laughed and I wiped my face and smiled.

"It'll be ready tonight!" I said and he told me that he called to check on me. He also talked about how he missed me and how we were going to have the greatest time together this week. "That's great dad. I'll call you back, I have to get ready for work." I told him and he chuckled. "A busy man, I see! Alright, I'll call you later buddy. Have a good night at work!" I told him that I would and he hung up. I walked into my room and put on my uniform before asking Talyn if she was staying here.

"Yep, I'll be here when you get back. See ya later!" We waved to each other and I left the house. I walked the long way this time and got to work on time.

The first few hours of my shift were boring. A few people came in to get gas and other people came to get snacks. some just came in and browsed before leaving empty-handed. Just now though, a handsome guy walked in and I couldn't take my eyes off of him until he was up at the register. "Like what you see?" He asked and I stuttered. "Nah, its just store policy to watch all the customers and sense you're the only one in here..." I trailed off and he chuckled. "Riiiiiight, but hey, I like what I see. Could I, maybe, get your number?" He smiled and I couldn't believe that he had just asked me for my number. "Oh, oh! Um, yea here."

I wrote my number down and handed it to him with his change for the things that he bought. When I looked back at him, he had those same red eyes that the creature had that night a few days ago and I nearly panicked. But, when I blinked, his eyes were back to their normal blue so I just thought of it as a hallucination.

"Goodbye now, take care." He said and I nodded. He left the store and I thought to myself.

Was I seeing things? I definitely was! There was no way that he had red eyes, I mean what human has red eyes?!

The rest of my hours flew by and I changed shifts with Mark, the other cashier, before going home and flopping in my bed. Talyn groaned from the other side and I went to shower. As I was about to climb in, I heard a noise outside the window and I carefully approached it. I lifted the blinds and saw the creature up close. Its gleaming red eyes glared deep into mine and I was so frozen that I couldn't scream.

You will be mine, Ymir Stella. Whether you want to be or not!

The voice dissipated and the beast ran away into the dark of night. I felt my world spinning before I collapsed on the floor.